The unemployment rate in the U.S. fell to 9.7 percent in January from 10 percent in December, 2009, according to a report issued by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.
The manufacturing sector, as a whole, gained about 11,000 jobs last month. The sector’s best performers were motor vehicles and parts and the plastic and rubber products sectors, which gained 23,000 and 6,000 jobs respectively. The gains in those sectors offset losses in other manufacturing sectors, the report says.
Other manufacturing-related areas such as construction, transportation and warehousing, continued to lose jobs last month. Construction employment fell by 75,000, while transportation and warehousing lost 19,000 jobs, the report states.
